The U.S. Military Will Send 400 Troops to Train Syrian Rebels Battling ISIS

The U.S. military intends to deploy more than 400 troops to help train Syrian rebels in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS).

Training is expected to begin in the early spring in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. Hundreds of American support personnel will also be deployed, a Pentagon spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.

Other coalition partners are also likely to help with the training, reports Defense One, with about 5,400 rebels expected to pass through the program annually for three years.

In neighboring Iraq, U.S. President Barack Obama has already authorized more than 3,000 American troops to guide and train Iraqi and Kurdish forces in their battle with ISIS.

Subscribe to TIME

Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.

Please enter a valid email address.

* The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again.

Sign Up Now

An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later.

Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME.

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you!

For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Write to Charlie Campbell at charlie.campbell@time.com.